Automated Decanting & Depalletizing
Client:
Major Retail Grocer
Industry:
Food & Beverage
Solution:
Robotics & Automation
One of the largest grocery chains in the United States, with nearly 500,000 employees serving 11 million customers daily.
Challenge
- Reduce reliance on manual labor
- 6 operators performing manual decanting (2 on 3 shifts)
- Repetitive task requires sharp blade for box opening
- Depalletizing was done manually, a strenuous task for labor
- Manual palletizing took several minutes per pallet
- Labor difficult to find and retain for these operations
Solution
- DLN implemented PRODecant, an automated decanting solution
- Cases are opened and emptied into totes for routing without human labor and the need for sharp blades
- Robotic depalletizerimplemented to replace manual labor
- Product removed from pallet, and re-palletized for shipping to stores in a customized product array by robotic automation
Results
- Labor needs slashed
- Faster throughput
- First of its kind automated decanting cell
- 6 manual decanting operators moved to elsewhere in facility
- 3 cases per minute decanted running in 3 shifts
- PRODecant ROI targeted for <3 years
- Pallets are unloaded faster and injury risk is reduced
